New York City imagery
The primary use of imagery is this play's setting in Brighton Beach, which is a neighborhood in New York City. In this particular moment of New York's history, it matters what a person's ethnicity is. The highly urban situation of the city means thousands of strangers, and with ethnic tension being a very real aspect of life, it matters that Eugene Jerome is a Polish Jew in Brooklyn. His experience of the city is concrete in the literally-concrete buildings, but abstract because of the way his community shapes his identity so precisely.
The Great Depression
The timing of the story is also an important aspect of the play's use of imagery. The audience's knowledge of the Great Depression informs the play as the characters wonder whether good times are going to come or not. The audience already knows through dramatic irony that the characters are probably in for some serious suffering which will not end quickly. The tension in the streets rises as people are unable to find work. Rumors of suicides and insane behavior in the marketplace becomes more normal as the city slowly realizes the seriousness of their financial struggles.
Family and duty
In light of intense money struggles, Eugene's perception of money changes. Suddenly, he feels less like an individual and more like a member of a group who is competing for finite resources in a severely limited and over-populated environment. This means that Eugene's experience is shaped by the imagery of his animal nature as he remembers some atavistic urge to protect his family. At the same time, he is deeply shaped by independence, and the crisis is intense so as to bring him to his full adult awakening.
Sexuality and adolescence
The story is a bildungsroman, which means that the drama takes the protagonist through seasons of change which ultimately culminate in the character's arrival at full adult consciousness. This means a rising level of sexual tension, because Eugene is a teenager whose dire straights give him an urge for pleasure. Also, his animal nature is tricking him into mating because of serious circumstances that are potentially life threatening. This is another way in which the play's imagery suggests a theme relating to human life and the duty one feels to provide for a family.
